Liquid incinerator

ABSTRACT

An arrangement by which a conventional &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;starved-air&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; type waste incinerator for solid waste may be adapted to burn liquids or sludge type materials alone or in combination with the solid waste.

United States Patent 11 1 Bakker et al. 1 July 31, 1973 LIQUID INCINERATOR 3,587,488 6/1971 Mutke et al. 110/7 [75] Inventors: Luhertus Bakker; Eugene D. nggzx fi Krumm both of wellsvme N'YI [73] Assignee: The Air Preheater Company, Inc.,

Wellsville, N.Y. Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague [22] Filed: June 1972 Attorney-Wayne H. Lang et al.

[21] Appl. No.: 260,233

52 us. 01 110/7 R [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. F23g 7/00 [58] Field of Search 110/7 R, 7 S, 8 R, An arrangement by which a conventional starved-air 110/18 R type waste incinerator for solid waste may be adapted to burn liquids or sludge type materials alone or in [56] References Cited combination with the solid waste.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,572,265 3 1971 Stockman [IO/l8 8 Claims, 2Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an arrangement for a conventional solid waste type incinerator whereby it may be adapted to burn solid waste alone or in combination with liquid or semi-liquid sludges of various viscosities without the accompaniment of smoke, fly ash or odor. The sludge burning capability of this invention does not detract from the capability of the incinerator to burn the'customary solid waste.

2. Description of Prior Art Incineration of waste material has long been an accepted method of refuse disposal whereby waste material having a hydrocarbon base is reduced to a gaseous material and ash. Upon reduction to a gaseous material the gas is burned completely in an afterbumer and the ash remaining is removed and disposed of in the usual manner. If the waste material to be incinerated should exist asa liquid, a semi-liquid or sludge, past practice has dictated that it be merely sprayed'into the combustion chamber of the incinerator as a conventional liquid fuel. Upon entry into the hot combustion chamber the moisture contained in the spray would be evaporated and the residue then burned. Such spraying of liquid waste is usually therefore designed to project droplet sized particles of fuel into a combustion chamber in a manner that would permit them to be contacted by the hot combustion gases and burned. If the droplets should contain excessive moisture, or if the contentis not readily reduced by combustion, the droplets tend to be entrained in the gas stream and carried out through the exhaust duct where they pollute the atmosphere. Various spraying arrangements have been made whereby liquid wastes could be more intimately subjected to the heat of incineration, however, little has been done to effect an arrangement whereby an existing incinerator for the combustion of solid wastes may be adapted to more effectively burn both solid and liquid waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention therefore provides for an incinerator of the starved-air type that is adapted to burn various types of solid waste. An arrangement is additionally provided whereby liquid waste may be presented to the combustion chamber in a manner whereby it is effectively contacted by the hot gases, quickly brought up to a temperature of combustion and burned without interferring with the usual combustion of the solid waste therein. It is a further objective of this invention to provide a device having a unique holding tray arrangement which is adapted to retain the liquid waste until it is heatedand incinerated by the hot gases of combustion.

A still further objective of this invention is to provide a sludge burner that will effectively burn sludges of varying viscosity and having a widely varying BTU content without the attendance of odor and smoke.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an incinerator adapted to handle sludges in accordance with this invention, and

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of an incinerator having a modified type of liquid holding tray.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In an incinerator of the starved-air type, trash or refuse to be burned is placed in an incinerator housing is enclosing a primary combustion chamber 12 that is preferably formed with an eliptical configuration in accordance to U. S. Pat. No. 3,491,709 granted Jan. 27, 1970 to provide maximum use of reflected heat. The incinerator is formed with a loading or access door 14 at one end for the supply of solid material to be burned and an outlet port leading to an exhaust stack 16 at the other end for the exhaust of pyrolyzed gas therefrom. The exhasut stack includes one or more conventional afterbumers 17 that subject gas exhausting from chamber 12 thereto. The inner wall of incinerator is insulated with a fire resistant coating 18 capable of withstanding elevated temperature for an extensive period of time. The bottom of the vessel is adapted to receive one or more air supply tubes 20 having openings 22 therein sized to provide adequate air for combustion of a charge of material as supplied by fan 25. To preclude the tubes from corrosion and erosion due to exposure to the burning waste, the tubes may be imbedded in the insulating material in accordance with the dictates of standard construction so that only the exit openings 22 for the airare exposed to the interior of chamber 12.

Extending laterally from a side wall of the housing 10 and in alignment with the loading door 14 are a series of brackets 26 whose top edges are aligned to form a composite surface for the support of a lateral shelf or tray 28. The shelf 28 comprises a holding means for liquid or sludge type material that is supplied from an inlet 32 which may be formed from ceramic or other heat resistant material. The inlet 32 is connected to a source of supply 34 for the sludge by a supply line 36 having a control valve 38 whereby the flow of liquid waste may be controlled to provide for its supply at a rate which is comparable to its rate of pyrolysis in chamber 12.

The shelf 28 is formed with a lateral rim 42 that retains additional liquid waste or sludge thereon momentarily to allow it to be contacted by the hot gases within the incinerator for sufficient duration to permit it to be raised to a temperature of pyrolysis, usually from 750 F. to 1000 F. The shelf 2% is preferably extended from one side wall of chamber 12 to allow free and unencumbered circulation of the hot gases over the opposite wall, and it is aligned with the loading opening whereby it may be readily removed for cleaning or replacement. Moreover, the shelf may be permanently removed through the loading door 14 if it is determined that it is not necessary for future operation.

In a modification of the basic liquid incinerator shown in FIG. 2, the liquid retaining tray 28 may be formed with a deep well 30 at one end to serve as a reservoir for the incoming and yetunburned liquid waste. From the inlet 32 directly into the deep well 30, the liquid flows to the top of the retaining tray and spreads over the entire surface thereof, until it drips over the rim and is readily ignited. Undulations or serrations in the lateral rim 42 (not shown) provide an arrangement whereby the liquid sludge may more evenly overflow the shelf and be more intimately subjected to the hot combustion gases. A conduit 35 extending from the source of compressed air 25 to the bottom of the well 30 may be controlled by valve 39 to provide sufficient air to either gently agitate the liquid in the well 30 or even violently agitate the liquid and blow it out into the chamber 12 as a spray where it may be incinerated. The limited flow of even minute quantities of air through conduit 35 provides for limited cooling of the conduit.

While the incinerator of this invention has been defined with reference to a single shelf-like retaining means depending from a single wall, it is evident that fluid retaining means such as a plurality of shelves or trays may be extended from opposite walls, or several may be extended from the same wall without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is accordingly intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. An incinerator for the combustion of solid and liquid waste materials comprising an elongate housing having an inlet port for solid wastes and an outlet port for the exhaust of hot gaseous products of combustion therefrom, inlet means for the supply of air to said housing, a port for the supply of liquid waste to said housing, and an elongate shelf parallel with said housing and subjacent the liquid supply port adapted to retard the flow of liquid waste whereby said liquid waste is retained and simultaneously subjected to hot products of combustion circulating in the housing.

2. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste materials that includes an elongate housing defining a combustion chamber having an inlet opening for solid wastes at one end and an outlet port for the exhaust of hot gaseous products of combustion at the other end, a source of air for combustion, means for the supply of air to the combustion chamber, an inlet port in said housing for the supply of liquid waste thereto, and an elongate shelf means subjacent the inlet opening for liquid waste having an end portion lying adjacent the inlet port for solid wastes adapted to retard the flow of liquid waste as it is supplied into said chamber and arranged to permit removal of said elongate shelf through the inlet port for solid wastes.

3. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 including a plurality of brackets that laterally support the shelf means thereon.

4. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein the shelf means is comprised of heat resistant ceramic material.

5. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein said shelf means includes a lateral rim that effectively retains additional liquid on the upper surface of the shelf.

6. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein said shelf means includes escape routes through which liquid may flow and be divided into droplet form.

7. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein the liquid flow retarding shelf includes a well to contain liquid waste to be vaporized.

8. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste as defined in claim 7 including an air supply line connected to the well to agitate the liquid therein.

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1. An incinerator for the combustion of solid and liquid waste materials comprising an elongate housing having an inlet port for solid wastes and an outlet port for the exhaust of hot gaseous products of combustion therefrom, inlet means for the supply of air to said housing, a port for the supply of liquid waste to said housing, and an elongate shelf parallel with said housing and subjacent the liquid supply port adapted to retard the flow of liquid waste whereby said liquid waste is retained and simultaneously subjected to hot products of combustion circulating in the housing.
 2. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste materials that includes an elongate housing defining a combustion chamber having an inlet opening for solid wastes at one end and an outlet port for the exhaust of hot gaseous products of combustion at the other end, a source of air for combustion, means for the supply of air to the combustion chamber, an inlet port in said housing for the supply of liquid waste thereto, and an elongate shelf means subjacent the inlet opening for liquid waste having an end portion lying adjacent the inlet port for solid wastes adapted to retard the flow of liquid waste as it is supplied into said chamber and arranged to permit removal of said elongate shelf through the inlet port for solid wastes.
 3. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 including a plurality of brackets that laterally support the shelf means thereon.
 4. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein the shelf means is comprised of heat resistant ceramic material.
 5. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein said shelf means includes a lateral rim that effectively retains additional liquid on the upper surface of the shelf.
 6. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein said shelf means includes escape routes through which liquid may flow and be divided into droplet form.
 7. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste material as defined in claim 2 wherein the liquid flow retarding shelf includes a well to contain liquid waste to be vaporized.
 8. An incinerator for the burning of solid and liquid waste as defined in claim 7 including an air supply line connected to the well to agitate the liquid therein. 